Interview: Laila Ali

I saw womenâ€™s boxing on television for the first time when I was 18, and thatâ€™s when I wanted to do it. So, it didnâ€™t come from me watching my father.

The Greatest's Daughter

Laila Ali was born in Miami Beach onDecember 30th, 1977 to Muhammad Ali and his third wife, VeronicaPorche. The most famous of The Greatestâ€™s nine children, Lailaâ€™s theonly one to follow in his footsteps into the boxing ring, On her way tothe top, the statuesque, 5â€™10â€?, 175 lb. cruiserweight whupped JackieFrazier, daughter of Joe, in the first Pay-Per-View fight featuringfemales in the main event.

She hoped to have a showdown withGeorge Foremanâ€™s undefeated daughter Freeda who retired suddenly aftertaking a pounding from another pugilist in the first loss of hercareer. Laila currently reigns as the womenâ€™s world title holder,having compiled an impressive 24-0 record, including 21 knockouts. Withno credible challengers left, she opted to try something

completely different type, ABC-TVâ€™s Dancing with the Stars. She and her

partner, Maklim Chmerkovskiy receiveda perfect score for their rumba, and came in third overall in thepopular seriesâ€™ competition. All the national attention led torecognition of Lailaâ€™s feminine side, and she was recently named toPeople Magazineâ€™s 100 Most Beautiful List for 2007.

The accomplished 29 year-old, nowcompletely out of her fatherâ€™s shadow, is also the author of amotivational book entitled â€œReach!â€? She often makes public appearancesas an inspirational speaker before young women in need of a role model.Laila is currently engaged to former NFL star Curtis Conway, and theloving couple has plans to marry in Los Angeles next month. She is

the subject of the documentary,Daddyâ€™s Girl, a documentary about her life which will air on TV One onFatherâ€™s Day, June 17th, at 8PM.

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BSN: Hi, Laila. The first thing I have to ask you is, did you know that your dad was here in Princeton a few days ago?

LA: No, I had no idea. Iâ€™m just so busy.

BSN: Theyâ€™re calling him Dr. Ali, now, because he was awarded an honorary degree from the University at graduation.

LA: Oh wow, thatâ€™s cool!

BSN: I met him twice before.The first time was way before you were born, back in 1967. He wastraining in Manhattan for the Zora Folley fight. A teacher who knew Iwas a fan took me to see him work out. Muhammadâ€™s sparring partner atthe time was future champ Jimmy Ellis, and we watched them go a coupleof rounds. And while I was there, another future champ, Joe Frazier,who was up and coming but not very well known at the time, came in,loudly demanding a title fight. Ali talked some trash, leaned over theropes and snapped Smokinâ€™ Joeâ€™s suspenders, asking him what made himthink he could put up a good fight, which made everybody there laugh.The other time was in the early '80s in Beverly Hills when he wasdriving a Rolls Royce convertible down Rodeo Drive. All the pedestrianson the street started chanting Ali, Bomaye! This was the phrase thatthe people of Zaire chanted while he was training for and again duringthe George Foreman fight, meaning "Ali, kill him!"

LA: Oh, I just loved that car.

BSN: Why did you decide to make the bio-pic Daddyâ€™s Girl?

LA: Well, it wasnâ€™t my idea.Reggie Bythewood was the producer. It was his baby. He pitched the ideato me. I didnâ€™t really know what was going to come of it, as far as howit was going to turn out. He started doing the footage and following mearound, and Iâ€™m happy with the way it came out.

BSN: This is pretty honestdocumentary. In fact it opens up with you saying, â€œMy father may havebeen the greatest boxer, but he definitely wasnâ€™t the greatest father.â€?

LA: Well, I donâ€™t think that I necessarily would have chosen to start it out that way.

BSN: Oh, thatâ€™s the way it was edited.

LA: Exactly, but people have to understand that, to me, thatâ€™s not a

negative statement. Obviously, it sounds like it is, but there are alot of parents out there who wish they would have done thingsdifferently. And, like I said, my dad would probably be one of thefirst ones to say that.

BSN: Yet, you still followed in his career footsteps. Did you think that you were going to be a boxer while you were growing up?

LA: No, though Iâ€™d always beenan aggressive person, and had a competitive spirit. I saw womenâ€™sboxing on television for the first time when I was 18, and thatâ€™s whenI wanted to do it. So, it didnâ€™t come from me watching my father. Ididnâ€™t know the sport existed; therefore, I wasnâ€™t really interested init until I saw it.

BSN: Do you think there mightbe something genetic about your interest, since Freeda Foreman andJackie Frazier, daughters of George and Joe, became boxers?

LA: You also had Archie Mooreâ€™sdaughter in the sport before I was, Ingemar Johanssonâ€™s daughter, andRoberto Duranâ€™s granddaughter. So, itâ€™s the same as with anything else.There are women, and there are men, who are just going to happen towant to fight, though I think my having some success in my careerdefinitely forced the issue with some of the other girls. But Iâ€™m theonly one now whoâ€™s still fighting. I guess they tried it, and it didnâ€™twork, or there was something they didnâ€™t like about it. So, they movedon, and Iâ€™m the only one that actually has had any staying power andbecame a world champion.

KW: Youâ€™re the undefeated world champion, 24 and 0, is it time to move on

and parlay that success into something else?

LA: Well, I definitely reachedmy goals, and unfortunately, itâ€™s left a void in how I feel about mycareer, because it wasnâ€™t as challenging as I would have liked it tohave been on the way up, as you saw in the documentary. It would bevery difficult to continue to train hard and remain motivated aftersome of the situations I ended up in. I never intended to box forever,and always planned to move on to do other things. So, Iâ€™m pretty muchwhere I thought Iâ€™d be right now, undefeated and a world champion.

BSN: How about your sister Hana? Think she might enter the ring?

LA: No. None of my siblings have an interest in boxing. Iâ€™m the

only one.

BSN: You have also done sometime in jail, which makes me think of Paris Hilton, because usuallypeople from a prominent family figure out a way to avoid ending upbehind bars.

LA: I definitely wouldnâ€™t compare myself to Paris Hilton.

BSN: Do you want to talk about your case?

LA: When I was 15, I hung outwith some girls who were shoplifters, and I decided to do it myself,even though I had money in my pocket. And I got in trouble. I spenttime in a juvenile hall. I think a lot of people try that but donâ€™t getcaught. I happened to get caught. You might have just found that out,but that information is not new. Iâ€™m the one who pretty much put thatout there years ago about myself.

BSN: Why so?

LA: Because, for me, itâ€™s theonly way to talk to other girls, and to try to help them. I actuallywrote a book about my upbringing and what Iâ€™ve been through. It wasjust something that I did. I believe everything happens for a reason,and Iâ€™m going to use it in a positive way.

BSN: How did you enjoy doing Dancing with the Stars?

LA: It was a nice change for me, to do something glamorous, but challenging. I had a lot of fun doing it.

BSN: It must have been a lot different from getting hit in the ring. You must have hated that part of being a boxer?

LA: I think itâ€™s just thatyouâ€™re not a boxer. Anyone whoâ€™s not a fighter would say that, whetheryouâ€™re a man or a woman. Itâ€™s hard for me try to explain to a non-boxerthat itâ€™s a sport. Itâ€™s part of a game in which you donâ€™t want to gethit. Obviously, when I get hit, it doesnâ€™t feel the same as it wouldfor you to get hit. That question continues to be asked over and overagain, and Iâ€™m sorry, but I really donâ€™t have an answer for it.

BSN: Thatâ€™s okay. What was itlike being raised by such successful parents? After all, youâ€™re dad wasThe Greatest and your mother was an accomplished equestrian in her ownright. Did you feel pressure to succeed, too?

LA: I donâ€™t feel pressure. Ijust grew up around people who had a lot of confidence and drive, and Ihave the same. Any pressure on me comes from myself.

BSN: What advice do you have for anybody who wants to follow in your

footsteps?

LA: Donâ€™t do it! No, Iâ€™mjoking. I donâ€™t really try to tell people whether they should fight.Itâ€™s definitely not for everybody. I think that if you do want to be afighter, then you need to work harder than everybody else, and makesure that you surround yourself with good people, especially if youâ€™rea woman. Youâ€™ve got to find a team that takes you seriously as a femalefighter, and is not going to rush you into the ring before youâ€™reready.

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